Bob Kingsley wrote this article for the outdoor page Muskegon Chronicle Feb 26. We'll see how much ends up on the cutting room floor.

Muskegon County Walleye

It's been a winter that the walleye anglers on Muskegon Lake will long remember.

Starting in late December and continuing through mid-February, area trollers were taking advantage of the unusual "soft water" conditions to record some exceptional catches of walleye. And to say that these fish were running large would be a gross understatement. For example; the top two walleyes caught in Michigan in 2005 (15 pound 4 oz. by Scott Ruiter and 14.12 by Mike Workman) came out of Muskegon Lake and there were four others taken from Muskegon County waters that exceeded 12.50 pounds.

Last year wasn't just a fluke as since the end of December area bait and tackle shops ave weighed-in numerous trophy 'eyes' many of which exceeded the 10 pound mark along with many others that would easily qualify for a DNR Master Angler award (minimum weight of 11 pounds if kept or 29 inches in length if released).

"I've either seen or heard from reliable sources of at least 20-25 walleyes taken this year that weighed 10-14 pounds," said Bill Funk who owns and manages Shoreline Service. Keith Workman, who works at Angler Archer, echoes similar sentiments, "I know of at least 30 or more walleyes caught that would weigh 10-14 pounds. A guy came in here this week who told me that never in his life has he ever caught as many 12 pound walleyes."

Based on the reports coming from area tackle shops as well as from anglers at the launch sites, it's safe to assume that during the past 11 months no other area of Michigan has produced as many walleyes in excess of the 12 pound mark as has been caught in Muskegon County.

"Our adult walleye population has been shown to have an excellent growth rate," said DNR fisheries biologist Rich O'Neal. "We usually have 40-50 thousand mature (spawning) fish in our system. But, with just over 4,000 acres, Muskegon Lake is pretty small when compared with larger systems such as Saginaw Bay where there is over 700,000 acres."

When queried about the unusually large number of trophy walleye being taken from county waters over the last 11 months O'Neal said, "The weather conditions have played a major role. These fish have always been there it's just that this year we've had an unusually warm winter and more anglers are fishing for them."

"Most of our spawning walleyes are coming in from Lake Michigan… some from as far as Wisconsin," explained O'Neal. "We also know these fish will wander up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline."

Although we may not have the acreage or the numbers of walleye found in waters such as Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay or Little Bay de Noc, — Muskegon Lake has a population density of trophy walleye that is getting the attention of walleye anglers from all over Michigan.

For example: last week Wednesday, by actual count, at 7:00 p.m. there were 37 boat trailers at the Hartshorn launch site and that doesn't include the anglers who had either left early or had yet to arrive!

And as you might expect, when the word gets out that large numbers of trophy walleye are being caught in a relatively small area (east end of Muskegon Lake from the river mouth to the black buoy) it tends to be a bit crowded… especially when the weather conditions were as ideal as they were the week before last.

Whether our trophy walleye fishery has been the result of an unusually warm winter or simply that these voracious fish have been feeding on an abundance of forage (gizzard shad, small perch, gobies, and alewives), the fact remains that more 12 pound and larger walleyes have been taken out of Muskegon County waters than anywhere else in Michigan!

Although both Muskegon Lake and White Lake now have a cover of ice, there is another 2 ½ weeks remaining in the current season. And, since the 15.25 pound world line class (#6) walleye was taken last March 5 out of Muskegon Lake, the odds are pretty good that a few more trophies will be caught and weighed before the season closes on March 15.

Muskegon County may not have the number of walleyes found in Saginaw Bay, Lake Erie, Little Bay de Noc, or the Detroit River but when it comes to producing trophy fish– our waters are as good, if not better, than you'll find anywhere else!

Muskegon County 'Trophy Walleye Capital of Michigan' –has a nice ring to it!